Billy Joe Shaver
The Real Deal (Compadre)
Billy Joe Shaver is the toughest musician in Texas if not on the planet. He’s been penning influential tunes for over half of his 66 years, and his fans include Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Allman Brothers, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley. Still, it ain’t been easy for this Waco resident, who recently endured a misery hat trick: his mother, wife, and son all died within a year. And then Shaver had a heart attack. On stage. Now that’s living a country song. Yet Shaver’s not only survived, he thrives on The Real Deal, with a little help from friends like Flaco Jimenez, Kimmie Rhodes, Kevin Fowler, and Nanci Griffith. His 18th album may not be as crucial as his classic Seventies work, yet Real Deal is his best album in a decade, recorded after reflecting on his up-face two-step with mortality, and commanding a fuller band than 2002’s Freedom’s Child. Billy Joe makes it look easy, emitting good songs like a hot-oiled Gatling gun, leading off with what is perhaps the most powerful song in his catalog, “Live Forever,” co-written with his son Eddy and played at his wife Brenda’s funeral. Country poems (“Slim Chance and the Can’t Hardly Playboys”) and country come-downs (“There’s No Fool Like an Old Fool”) are punctuated with gospel koans (“Try and Try Again”). Lloyd Maines’ lap steel, Dobro, and pedal steel flourishes are merely frosting on this flavorsome platter. The Real Deal ain’t just the title, it’s Billy Joe Shaver, by God – the Man.
This article appears in Barbara Bush.